Last Monday, New York Times’ writer Mireya Navarro addressed the question of mixed race, in response to Barack Obama’s speech about race in Philadelphia.

“Being accepted. Proving loyalty. Navigating the tight space between racial divides. Americans of mixed race say these are issues they have long confronted, and when Senator Barack Obama recently delivered a speech about race in Philadelphia, it rang with a special significance in their ears. They saw parallels between the path trod by Mr. Obama and their own.”

Authenticity is the premise of Hip-Hop and it’s close cousin, politics. Artists are applauded for “keeping it real,” while politicians must explain religious ties, display a cookie cutter family image and an innocuous political platform that offends no one. But if Hip-Hop gives a voice to the misunderstood, and politicians are meant to instill change and reform our world for the better, why do we force stereotypes?

In politics, women are expected to vote for Hillary simply because she’s a woman, while Obama is hit with his not being “black enough” or for being “too Black.” 50 Cent proudly wears his being-shot-nine-times-badge like a Boy Scout, while Common is labeled “socially conscious” and barely played on mainstream radio.

Hip-Hop and politics both fall victim to the Black and White label system. But where do you fit when you can’t define yourself with a neat check on a census box? Which box do you check to define your existence, when one label can ignore half of your family? The result is a lifetime of questioning, awkward glances, and a bumpy road of self-reflection.

“James McBride, 50, who described growing up in a Brooklyn housing project with his White mother in a memoir, The Color of Water, said that, like Mr. Obama, he identified himself primarily as a Black man of mixed race. And through life, because of his brown skin, societyhas imposed its own label. “If cops see me, they see a Black man sitting in a car,” he said. But being proud to call himself African-American, Mr. McBride said, does not negate his connection to his “Jewish part,” his mother’s heritage. Asked which part of him was dominant, he said, “It’s like grabbing Jell-O.”

And while the face of Hip-Hop is just as amorphous, what defines authenticity? Does a Black kid from suburbia have more street cred than a White M.C. struggling to feed his child? Do we respect blackness over talent?

“But what difference does it make?” McBride added. “When you’re mixed, you see how absurd this business of race is.”

my only suggestion to those who might be struggling to answer the question of race is “love thyself and fuck everyone else”. be you and keep it moving.

04.07.08 at 1:42 pm

nosaj

“Boss”

04.07.08 at 1:49 pm

OED aka just spell my name right

One day I suddenly realized I had forgotten, name age sex address race,
I had found myself
What is greater than love or hate,
I will tell you then,
what is greater than love is the relationship I have with the tip of my finger.
breaking it down
Want me to break it down?
I can break it down.
It’s a simple concept.

If I define myself as my thumb, I deny myself my fingers.
If I define myself as my fingers, I deny myself my hand.
If I define myself as my hand, I deny myself my arm.
If I define myself as my arm, I deny myself my body.
If I define myself as my body, I deny myself my universe.
I diminish myself.

I do not know enough about myself, because you do not know
enough about yourself, would you help me know?
I met someone and he was a part of myself that I did not appreciate.
It is not that our ego is too large; the problem is that our ego is too small.
Love is more constant than light.
I heard god call, I got my gun and waited.
When he appeared, I realized and took the gun from my head.

By having no family I have inherited the family of humanity.
By having no possessions I have possessed all.
By rejecting the love of one I have received the love of all.
By surrendering my life to the revolution I have found eternal life.
Revolutionary suicide.

– Huey P

04.07.08 at 2:09 pm

chocolategirlwonder

Damn OED,

I didn’t come here looking to get fed but you just made me realize how hungry I was…

04.07.08 at 2:13 pm

OED aka just spell my name right

*puts soapbox back in the shed*

my bad. just a favorite.

04.07.08 at 2:20 pm

Dirk DiggahoE - aka TSS HD Bomber

4real tho, isnt EVERY1 mixed?
afta thousands of years of human existence, i doubt its possible for any1 to be only 1 race.

04.07.08 at 2:26 pm

BEZ

I love who I am. I sometimes hate who I’ve become.

When you see me, you see a black man, but I am so much more……..

04.07.08 at 2:43 pm

tres

Only in this country, at least in this hemisphere, can some one be ‘mixed.’ It’s funny you go to countries where most of the population is mixed (Cuba for example) and they don’t even use that term.

being of Mexican and Cuban descent….so many have questioned my authencity on my latino heritage because of my rather “unique” personality (not being “Mexican” enough or that I deny my latino roots)….

a lot of it because my main choice of music is always hip-hop…you may find me salsa dancing or singing mexican corridos here and there…but there’s a 86.7329% chance you’ll find me bumping some Outkast >>>>>>

I guess to society….being yourself = FTL

haha

04.07.08 at 4:29 pm

Thugnificence: I stay Chilly like Fritoâ„¢Pies

People find a way to segregate themselves and personally I think thats fine. The only time its a problem is when you think that your you are superior because of your segregation.

Racial issues are not just an American problem. Its seems like “it goes down” every week in France…and whenever I make it to Puerto Rico I hear people say stuff about darker or lighter skin people that make me think I’m in a time warp. Its funny and sad all at the same time.

04.07.08 at 5:13 pm

P

my mother is mexican and my father is jamaican. growing up i was never enough of either to fit in. i look black but i feel mexican. has nothing to do with preference but being raised by a mexican mother alone will do that to you. we got used to the stares and the questions. so at 24, i don’t notice when people stare at me and my corean bf when we walk hand in hand. eventhough he staaays pointing out the fact that they are indeed staring. but my family still has issues with me dating a black man (hasn’t stopped me though :D)

not sure if i’d feel the same way if i had been raised by both parents. i woulda prolly been a helluva lot more confused growing up.

infamous p does not discriminate!

04.07.08 at 5:13 pm

Ernie

I challege the thought of us being hybrids, with instead, the though of us being high-breeds. I hope that doesn’t sound too snobby!

Good article lady J, hits right at home.

04.07.08 at 5:28 pm

Patrick M.

I am not a hybrid.

But I’d like to make some.

Good shit J…

04.07.08 at 5:32 pm

Mr. Papagiorgio

very, very good post.

but on a side note. . . why don’t derek jeter look like either one of his peoples?

04.07.08 at 6:00 pm

The Major

I always thought Jeter was a Rican!!!

04.07.08 at 7:41 pm

raezilla

honestly, puerto rico, or the good port, was where the slave ships let off the weak and old to save them the rest of the trip( that only lasted hours instead of days) and there slaves, then became the trade spot back in the day, so us ricans are black white italian and whatever else god thru are way!

I don’t even think the issue comes up until I have to fill out those stupid profile boxes.

According to most of those disclosures, I can only be Black or Hispanic but not both… Either I’m Black-Not of Hispanic origin or I’m Hispanic regardless of race…WTF

04.08.08 at 6:55 am

500K Flea

My father is pitch-black Jamaican and my mother is a light-skinned part Arawak Indian (look it up!) part latin Jamaican. I don’t give a fuck though, I’m still Black because that is what I see in the mirror. My complexion is quite different than most Black people as is my hair; I’m still Black regardless and I’m still proud of my culture and race.

04.08.08 at 9:55 am

T DOT

You’d be surprised how hard of a time it’d be being mixed (jamaican and english) in canada as well.

lol @ hybrids.

It’s true though, we run shit.

04.08.08 at 10:30 am

500K flea

@ T-dot: WHO RUN IT!!! Word to 3-6 Mafia!!! LOL!!!

04.14.08 at 4:57 pm

rezidual

Stereotypes exist for the insecure, so that they can feel secure. Being mixed is a rare gift and anyone who is should be proud to be able to represent more then part of the world.